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Monday, August 06, 2007

Bratz Big Babyz: Baby Doll Or Blow-Up Doll?


"Just after the wrapping paper hit the floor on Christmas, Kendra Toodle-Register was suffering buyer's remorse. She and her husband bought their 4-year-old daughter, Dejah, a Bratz Big Babyz doll named Sasha. They'd done so advisedly. They know the Bratz line of dolls are dressed provocatively, but the Babyz togs are at least a little toned down. In the box, Sasha, with her perky pigtails and almond eyes, looked adorable.

That's the packaging. Out of the box, Dejah turned the doll over and discovered that beneath the khaki green skirt (and baby bottle attached to a bling chain), Sasha was wearing a thong. That's right. A black mesh one."



So are the executives who think up these products & entertainment for children stupid, without morals, or both?

Of course, the argument can be made that these dolls are actually supposed to be younger versions of the teen Bratz girls -- that "Babyz" is simply a euphemism for "younger."


Indeed, while this line was originally called "Baby Bratz," it is now called "Bratz Big Babyz."

So instead of six months, I think one could say these dolls are really more like six years. Or even seven. Isn't that great?

9 comments:

  1. Why is that little girl sitting on a bannana? That is very creepy. And I don't even quite get it. I thought that the Bratz were supposed to be just dolls. I don't recall Barbie ever sitting on a big bannana.

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  2. Sometimes a banana is just a banana.

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  3. Oh, it gets better. There's that damn Bratz movie that's in theaters right now. *shudder*

    I want to know more about the parents who keep buying Bratz crap for their kids. Do they even look at the creepy things?

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  4. Anonymous12:51 PM

    ... Is it just me, or are two of those dolls wearing a pornface? *Shudder*

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  5. Will you hold it against me if I develop a sudden, urgent need for a barf bag? *feels ill*

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  6. So, so creeeepy.

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  7. I want to know more about the parents who keep buying Bratz crap for their kids. Do they even look at the creepy things?

    I have bought my daughter some toys out of the Bratz line, mostly the Ponyz, which she seems to like a lot more than My Little Pony. Elizabeth likes the Bratz Babyz dolls (the smaller size, not the larger one depicted in the original post) because they are poseable like action figures in a way that most other baby dolls are not. For dolls depicting adults she generally leans toward Barbie (particularly the Dancing Princess subline) and the Disney Princesses.

    I'm not particularly enamored of any of these toys, as the stereotype enforcement is high for almost all of them. (Her Photographer Barbie is a notable exception.) But since Elizabeth also likes Power Rangers, Transformers, and Star Wars toys, I feel like the breadth of her choice of play outweighs any concerns I have regarding the qualities of any one toyline. Though I try to steer her clear of the Bratz line when I can.

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  8. The brave new direction for the toy industry as demonstrated by Bratz: Sexualizing tweens and toddlers.

    I may be ill.

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  9. I just really hope my (forthcoming) daughter doesn't want to play with these.

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